News items affecting gays and lesbians

2007 - October, November & December

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In the following, "SSM" refers to "same-sex marriage."

News during 2007-Oct:

2007-SEP-27: USA: Bill to protect employment gutted: As introduced,
the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act of
2007
(ENDA), H.R. 2015, would have protected persons of all sexual orientations and
sexual identities from employment discrimination. On 2007-SEP-27, Rep. Barney
Frank (D-MA) announced that he was introducing new ENDA legislation that would
only provide protections on the basis of sexual orientation.

On 2007-OCT-02,
Equality Maryland -- an organization promoting equal rights for persons
of all sexual orientations and sexual identities issued a newsletter stating:

"Late last week, leadership in the U.S. House abandoned a
transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) by splitting
the legislation into two bills - one for sexual orientation and another for
gender identity and expression." 1 More info

2007-OCT-05: ID: Further developments in Senator Craig's situation:
Senator Craig (R-ID) unsuccessfully attempted to reverse his guilty plea for
disorderly contact in a public washroom at
the Minneapolis airport. That charge involved allegations by a police
officer that Craig had solicited him for sex. Senator Craig has denied being
a homosexual. However, to our knowledge, he has never denied being a
bisexual.

He has decided to not resign as originally expected, but to serve out his
current term in the Senate.

Mike Jones from Denver, CO who is reported as calling himself a gay escort
was responsible for the downfall of evangelist leader Ted Haggard. He has
alleged that Senator Craig came to Denver see him in his hotel room.
However, he hesitated from making the allegation on air during an interview
on the "Bulldog Bill Feingold Show" on KESQ in Palm Desert, CA. A
spokesperson at Craig's office said that: "Mike Jones' allegations are
completely false." 2

2007-OCT-10: North America: "Dear Abby" columnist supports
same-sex marriage: Jeanne Phillips, a.k.a. Abigail Van
Buren, who writes the Dear Abby column, is being given an award by
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) because of her support
for same-sex marriage." She told the Associated Press:

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em.
That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."

Stephen Bennett is founder of
http://TheParentsGroup.com, a conservative Christian support group for
parents, family members and friends of homosexuals. They appear to recommend
that gays and lesbians lead celibate lives, rather than enter into loving,
committed civil unions or marriages. He commented:

"Sorry 'Dear Abby' - You are WRONG on this one! ... Jeanne Phillips
(aka Abby) is opining a lot about how very little she knows. Her using
buzz words as 'homophobic' and 'inclusive' and 'judgmental' are to scare
people into believing she is 'right.' Homosexual family members need to
be loved and be treated with respect, yet going as far out on a limb as
Phillips did, is showing FALSE love and is actually harmful. We
encourage families to love their 'gay' identified loved ones
unconditionally, yet without ever condoning or accepting the behavior."
3

2007-OCT-19: World: J.K. Rowling outs Albus Dumbledore: J.K. Rowling,
42, author of the Harry Potter series of books, started her first tour of
the U.S. in seven years with an appearance at Carnegie Hall. She told the
audience what some Harry Potter fans had long suspected: that she "...
always felt Dumbledore was gay." He is the head of Hogwarts School.
According to Rowling, Dumbledore fell in love with Gellert Grindenwald,
another wizard. However, Grindenwald became more interested in the dark
arts; Dumbledore was "terribly let down" and went on to destroy his
rival/love. She said that that love was Dumbledore's "great tragedy. ...
Falling in love can blind us to an extent." She said that he had changed
the screenplay for the movie version of her sixth book "Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince." It had referred to Dumbledore's past female
lover. She crossed it out and wrote "Dumbledore is gay" over the
text. Her audience appears to have gone silent after her statement; then it
erupted into applause. Rowling said that if she had know previously that the
fans would accept Dumbledore's sexual orientation, she would have revealed
her thoughts earlier. 4

2007-OCT-13: ON: Ottawa synod of the Anglican Church of Canada backs
blessing SSM: By a wide margin (177 to 97) the delegates passed a motion that would allow a
priest, with the prior approval of his parish, to approach the bishop for
permission to perform a blessing of a previously solemnized same-sex civil
marriage where at least one spouse is baptized. This would give the married
couple's parish, their priest, and their bishop separate veto power over each
blessing, so that all three would have to be in agreement. However, the actual
performance of same-sex marriages would still be banned. That would require
agreement at the General Synod level.
5,6,7

2007-OCT-19: QC: Montreal synod also backs blessing same-sex marriages:
The synod of the diocese of Montréal voted in favor of a motion to bless
existing same-sex marriages. It was worded very similarly to the Ottawa
resolution. The clergy delegates to the synod voted 44 to 25 in favor; lay
delegates voted 59 to 32. Some of the delegates who opposed the resolution
required the synod to make separate tallies for clergy and laity. This
forced Bishop Clarke to indicate where he stood. He voted in favor of the
motion. 8

2007-OCT-30: Canada: Anglican Church
bishops preserve guidelines: The bishops of the Anglican Church of
Canada met in London, ON to discuss a range of items. Their discussions were
generally open to the public. One discussed "the issue" of homosexuality.
However, Bishop Patrick Yu, suffragan (assistant) bishop of Toronto said
that he could speak "on several levels [but] not in front of the press." The
meeting was then held in secret. The bishops discussed whether to change a
pastoral statement issued last spring that instructed clergy that they may
celebrate a eucharist and intercessory prayers for a same-sex couple.
However, a wedding or blessing of their relationship is forbidden.

2007-OCT-31: KS & PA: Westboro Baptist Church loses court case:
ABC News reported that a jury found that the Westboro Baptist Church of
Topeka KS had intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the family of
Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder when it demonstrated at his funeral in 2006.
The Church protestors had carried signs with messages like "God hates fags"
and "Thank God for dead soldiers." Their point is that deaths in the U.S.
military are caused by God punishing the country because it tolerates
homosexuality. The family was awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages
and $8 million in punitive damages. The awards total many times the total
assets of the church. 9

News during 2007-NOV:

2007-NOV-17: ON: Niagara diocese approves blessing of same-sex
couples: Three years previously, on 2004-NOV-18, the priests and laity in the synod voted to
allow blessings of previously married same-sex couples. The vote was more than 2
to 1 in favor (213 votes to 106). Their bishop,
Ralph Spence, later vetoed that motion.

The issue was revisited by the diocese of Niagara in their
2007-NOV meeting. This time, the vote was over 4½
to 1 in favor (239 in favor, 53 opposed; two abstained). Bishop Spence approved
the resolution. A blessing would only be done if:

2007-DEC-10: Canada: Egale Canada: This group "... advances
equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-identified people
and their families across Canada." They have

"... launched a national student survey to look at homophobia and
transphobia in Canadian Schools. The survey targets students in grades 8
through 12 and aims to document the realities of life at school for
straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Two Spirit, intersex,
queer, and questioning (LGBTTIQ) students, including the kids of LGBTTIQ
parents. The information from this survey will provide educators and
policy makers with information that will enable them to make Canadian
schools safer and more respectful places for our youth. Help us get the
word out."

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